Quiz: Howstuffworks

Can You Name These 1990s TV Families?

Ian Fortey

Image: NBC via youtube

About This Quiz

Between the 1980s and the 1990s television seriously evolved. The goofy family sitcom that tried to teach us lessons was slowly being replaced by the sitcom that just showed us people in their real, raw, ridiculous state. Characters were a little more gritty in some cases and more relatable in others. Families had more real issues. And yet some shows really pushed the boundaries in terms of zaniness and unpredictability. Laugh tracks were somewhat less annoying. Also, there was "Friends."

From "Seinfeld" to "Dinosaurs" to "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," there were a lot of diverse and fun shows to check in with, and a lot of interesting family dynamics from sitcoms to dramas and even the odd genre-defying bit of weirdness. Did you ever wish you could be one of the Bundys? Or the Tanners? Or the Winslows? Do you recognize all three of those names? Then this just might be the quiz for you. It's time to prove all those hours you spent watching Must See TV were worth it. Dig deep into your memories of TV past and tell us who all these '90s TV families are!

NBC via youtube

This show was a "Cheers" spin-off and featured a radio talk show host moving back to Seattle to be with his brother Niles and father Martin.

"Freaks and Geeks"

"Full House "

"Frasier"

"Family Matters"

"Frasier" followed the story of Frasier Crane, who first appeared on the show "Cheers" way back in 1984. Kelsey Grammar also played the role of Frasier on a single episode of the sitcom "Wings" in the 1990s as well. On his own show, he moved back home to be with his elderly father and uptight brother.

ABC via youtube

The kids on this show were named Becky, Darlene and DJ. What was it?

"Roseanne"

"Family Matters"

"Married ... with Children"

"Home Improvement"

"Roseanne" was the sitcom that made Roseanne Barr famous, and was rebooted again in 2017 after being off the air for 20 years. The show was about the Conners, which is also the name of the rebooted reboot of the show after Roseanne was fired.

ABC via youtube

This family lived next to Steve Urkel on the show "Family Matters." What was their name?

The Tanners

The Winslows

The Boyds

The Olsens

"Family Matters" was a show about the Winslow family, featuring Carl Winslow, his wife Harriet, and their kids Eddie, Laura and Judy. Though it wasn't immediately obvious, the show was actually a spin-off from the sitcom "Perfect Strangers."

ABC via youtube

On what show would you find Tim "The Toolman" Taylor and his family?

"Boy Meets World"

"Everybody Loves Raymond"

"Home Improvement"

"Step by Step"

"Home Improvement" was a show about Tim Taylor and his family and was famous for not only giving the world Tim Allen but also for introducing Pamela Anderson who went on to some pretty big things herself.

Fox via youtube

The Bundys are an iconic, dysfunctional TV family from the 1990s. What show were they on?

"Hangin' with Mr. Cooper"

"Blossom"

"Step by Step"

"Married ... with Children"

"Married ... with Children" was almost an anti-sitcom in the 1990s featuring the Bundy clan. They were rude and crude and seemed to be the opposite of every TV family before then. The show was very popular and was the first primetime show on the FOX network.

NBC via youtube

This TV family adopted a stray alien who had a penchant for eating cats on the show "ALF." What was their name?

The Tanners

The Costanzas

The Winslows

The Cranes

Alf, whose name was actually Gordon Shumway, was taken in by Willie, Lynne, Kate and Brian Tanner. In the first season, Alf drank beer, but that was dropped from later seasons due to the overwhelming fan base of children.

Fox via youtube

Hank, Peggy and Bobby Hill lived in Texas on this show that spent a lot of time talking about propane and propane accessories. What was it?

"Mad About You"

"The Critic"

"King of the Hill"

"Family Matters"

"King of the Hill" was an animated comedy that was made by the man behind "Beavis and Butthead." This show was more family sitcom and focused mostly on Hank Hill, his friends and his family in small-town Texas.

NBC via youtube

Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv were the parents on what memorable sitcom?

"The Fresh Prince of Bel Air"

"Mr. Belvedere"

"Frasier"

"Everybody Loves Raymond"

Few shows from the '90s are as iconic as "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." The show made Will Smith a household name and taught a generation of people how to do the Carlton dance. Smith only agreed to be on the show because he was having tax problems with the IRS.

ABC via youtube

Danny Tanner, Uncle Joey and Uncle Jesse were the three dad figures on this popular sitcom. What was it?

"Boy Meets World"

"The Wonder Years"

"Full House"

"Blossom"

"Full House" was one of the most enduring sitcoms from the 1990s. Stars Bob Saget and Dave Coulier actually used to be real-life roommates for a while, many years before "Full House" was a real show.

ABC via youtube

What was the name of the family on the show "Boy Meets World?"

The Smiths

The Taylors

The Matthews

The Tanners

"Boy Meets World" was mostly a show about Cory Matthews and him, you know, meeting the world. The show was so popular it got a spin-off/reboot years later called "Girl Meets World."

Fox via youtube

This sitcom family is arguably the most famous in the world and features dad Homer, mom Marge and kids Bart, Lisa and Maggie. What is it?

The Russos

The Winslows

The Bundys

The Simpsons

"The Simpsons" is one of the longest running shows on television, but it did go through the entire decade of the 1990s. All the characters on "The Simpsons" have four fingers except for one - God.

The WB‎ via youtube

This show originally just featured the main character and her mom, but a sister popped up literally by magic in season 5. What was it?

"The Sopranos"

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

"Step by Step"

"The Wonder Years"

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" focused on Buffy Summers. Occasionally the show dealt with her mom Joyce, like the episode in which she dates a man who turned out to be a robot, played by "Three's Company" actor John Ritter.

ABC via youtube

The Arnold family and in particular, Kevin Arnold, were the focus of this retro-themed show. What was it?

"The Wonder Years"

"Blossom"

"The Nanny"

"Grace Under Fire"

"The Wonder Years" was a bit of a drama and a bit of a comedy. The show was apparently inspired by the movie "A Christmas Story," which relied heavily on a voice-over narration of the main character as an adult.

ABC via youtube

What show was about a recovering alcoholic single mom named Grace Kelly and her kids Quentin, Libby and Patrick?

"Step by Step"

"Mad About You"

"Grace Under Fire"

"3rd Rock From the Sun"

"Grace Under Fire" starred Bret Butler and had a very "Roseanne" vibe to it. Rumor has it that the show was extremely difficult to work on as star Bret Butler was hard to deal with due to her real-life substance abuse issues.

ABC via youtube

This sitcom features a family brought together when identical twin sisters separated at birth rediscover one another. What is it?

"Designing Women"

"Seinfeld"

"Blossom"

"Sister, Sister"

"Sister, Sister" features real-life twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry. The sisters convinced their real-life mother to move the family to California when they were just 12 in the hope of becoming famous.

ABC, CBS via youtube

This sitcom starring Suzanne Somers was a very Brady Bunch-style show in which two single parents get married and merge their families. What was it?

"Step by Step"

"The Nanny"

"3rd Rock From the Sun"

"The King of Queens"

"Step by Step" was a show about a woman with three kids and a man with three kids becoming a couple with six kids. In the opening credits of the show, there were seven children shown with no explanation for who the extra one was.

ABC, The WB‎ via youtube

This show featured a girl and her two aunts. Also a talking cat. What was it?

"The Drew Carey Show"

"Sabrina, The Teenage Witch"

"3rd Rock From the Sun"

"7th Heaven"

"Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" was based on the Archie comic of the same name. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, accused the show of stealing her idea saying she had pitched a show about her and another woman as the aunts of a witch with a talking black cat the year before.

NBC via youtube

"3rd Rock from the Sun" featured a quarter of aliens pretending to be a family on Earth. What was their name?

The Solomons

The Conners

The Cranes

The Camdens

"3rd Rock From the Sun" has the distinction of being one of the few shows ever to actually feature a 3D episode. The season 2 finale was shot in two parts on a budget of $1.5 million.

The WB‎ via youtube

On what show would you find a trio of witches who are also sisters?

"Empty Nest"

"Everybody Loves Raymond"

"E.R."

"Charmed"

"Charmed" featured Alyssa Milano, Shannon Doherty and Holly Marie Combs. The show was notorious for budgetary issues that required plot changes to accommodate. Alyssa Milano's character was meant to have the power of levitation, but it was written out to save money.

CBS via youtube

Ray Romano is the center of "Everybody Loves Raymond" which has him deal with his wife and kids and also his parents and brother. What's the family's name?

The Cranes

The Barones

The Duffys

The Winslows

Ray Barone is the center of the story in "Everybody Loves Raymond." The show was immensely popular, and by 2003, Ray Romano was the highest paid actor on TV making $1.7 million an episode.

NBC via youtube

Long before Mayim Bialik was on "The Big Bang Theory," she was the daughter of a musician on this sitcom.

"Blossom"

"Designing Women"

"Family Matters"

"Growing Pains"

"Blossom" made Mayim Bialik famous and also introduced us to her best friend Six. Why was the character named Six? There were two answers. One was that she was the sixth child her parents had and the other reason was that six was the number of beers her parents drank on the night she was conceived.

NBC via youtube

This spin-off of "Golden Girls" featured an elderly veterinarian and his adult daughters. Also a dog. What was it?

"Major Dad"

"Picket Fences"

"Empty Nest"

"Roc"

Even though "Empty Nest" was a "Golden Girls" spin-off, it did feature Estelle Getty's Sophia fairly often. Sophia didn't do as much on "Empty Nest" as she had done on "Golden Girls" because Getty was getting older and had problems with the scripts. Often her lines needed to be written on cue cards.

NBC via youtube

Even though they weren't the stars of the show, one of the most memorable TV families of the '90s were the Costanzas. What show were they on?

"Seinfeld"

"Family Matters"

"Growing Pains"

"The Nanny"

George Costanza was Jerry Seinfeld's best friend on "Seinfeld," and his obnoxious parents routinely stole the show. In real life, the man George Costanza was partially based on sued Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David for millions. The case was dismissed.

The WB‎ via youtube

This show was very much inspired by "Married ... with Children" but also featured a talking rabbit puppet. What was it?

"The Nanny"

"Unhappily Ever After"

"Brotherly Love"

"Wings"

"Unhappily Ever After" was a blatant rip off of "Married ... with Children" and was even created by one of the same producers. It was also one of the rare shows to routinely break the 4th wall and acknowledge that it was just a TV show.

The WB‎ via youtube

"The Wayans Brothers" features real-life brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans playing brothers, but their last name wasn't Wayans. What was it?

Crane

Archer

West

Williams

"The Wayans Brothers" were actually the Williams brothers on the show. It was also the flagpole show of the WB network that helped launch its Wednesday night line up.

Fox via youtube

This drama focused on the Salinger siblings whose parents are killed by a drunk driver. What was it?

"Party of Five"

"Dawson's Creek"

"Picket Fences"

"Freaks and Geeks"

"Party of Five" was a pretty depressing concept for a show. It also seemed to rest wholly on the shoulders of star Neve Campbell. When she didn't renew her contract, the show was canceled a couple of weeks later.

CBS via youtube

"Major Dad" was a sitcom about a Marine major who becomes a step dad. What was the name of the family?

Winslow

MacGillis

Fredericks

White

"Major Dad" was about Major John MacGillis marrying a woman with three daughters. The show is notable for being one of the few sitcoms produced that painted the military in a fairly positive light.

CBS via youtube

This quirky, small-town drama featured the local sheriff and his wife, the town doctor, as well as their kids and a host of other oddballs. What was it called?

"Harry and the Hendersons"

"Wings"

"Sisters"

"Picket Fences"

"Picket Fences" was a David E. Kelly show, the same producer who created other massive hits like "Ally McBeal," "Chicago Hope," "Big Little Lies," and "The Practice."

first-run syndication via youtube

This show was based on a movie of the same name and was about a family that adopts a Sasquatch. What was it?

"7th Heaven"

"Harry and the Hendersons"

"Roc"

"Just Shoot Me"

"Harry and the Hendersons" was initially a movie starring John Lithgow. In both the film and the TV show, Harry was played by 7'2" tall actor Kevin Peter Hall who also played the alien in the movies "Predator" and "Predator 2."

ABC, NBC via youtube

This show was based on the popular stand-up comedy of its main star and moved from ABC to NBC, changing nearly its entire cast and location. What was it?

"Roc"

"The Jeff Foxworthy Show"

"Growing Pains"

"7th Heaven"

"The Jeff Foxworthy Show" gone one season on ABC before it was canceled and picked up again by NBC. The location changed, the theme song changed, and every cast member besides Jeff Foxworthy and Haley Joel Osment changed.

ABC via youtube

"Growing Pains" was one of the most popular sitcoms that ended in the 1990s. What was the name of the family?

The Barones

The Costanzas

The Smiths

The Seavers

Jason and Maggie Seaver were the parents of Mike, Carol, Ben and Chrissy on "Growing Pains," the show that made Kirk Cameron famous. Cameron and Tracy Gold, who played his sister Carol, had already played siblings years earlier in a McDonald's commercial.

The WB‎ via youtube

"The Parent'Hood" was about a family in Harlem and was one of the original shows to launch on the WB. What was the family's name?

The Petersons

The Griffins

The Smiths

The Winslows

Robert and Jerri Peterson had four children. The show ran for five seasons and experienced numerous cast changes throughout its run. The show was also compared to the "Cosby Show" for the way it dealt with family issues.

NBC, The WB‎ via youtube

The short-lived series "Brotherly Love" was notable for featuring three real-life Lawrence brothers as stars. What were their first names?

Carl, Steve and Larry

Jerry, George and Kramer

Joey, Matthew and Andrew

Ray, Robert and Frank

Joey Lawrence rose to fame on the show "Blossom." His younger brothers Matthew and Andrew joined him on the show "Brotherly Love" which only lasted two seasons - one on NBC and one on the WB.

CBS via youtube

Fran Drescher played the title character in "The Nanny." What was the name of the family that hired her character?

Sheffield

MacGillis

Whittaker

Hill

Maxwell Sheffield is the man who hires Fran Fine to help take care of his three children on the series. The show was so popular that there were a number of "Nanny"- inspired dolls on the market, for those who didn't want a traditional Barbie.

The WB‎, The CW via youtube

"7th Heaven" was a family drama that lasted 11 seasons, following the life of a pastor, his wife and their seven kids. What was the name of the family?

Lovejoy

Brock

Costanza

Camden

Reverend Eric Camden was the father of the clan in "7th Heaven." The youngest children on the show were twins, Sam and David. In real life, they were actually played by quadruplets for a while.

The WB‎ via youtube

"The Jamie Foxx Show" starred Jamie Foxx and featured him working at his family's hotel. What was his family's name?

Davis

King

Henderson

Matthews

Jamie Foxx played Jamie King, and he worked at the King's Tower hotel with his aunt and uncle. Foxx had made a name for himself before his self-titled show on the series "In Living Color."

CBS via youtube

In this drama series, single mom Amy Gray returns home with her 6-year-old daughter to live with her mother. What was it called?

"Roc

"Sisters"

"Family Matters"

"Judging Amy"

"Judging Amy" was the story of a single mother who was also a family court judge as she returns home and deals with her mother and siblings, as well as her daughter. It lasted for six seasons.

NBC via youtube

"Just Shoot Me" seemed like more of an office-themed sitcom but it did feature the father-daughter family of its main characters. What was their name?

Gallo

Winslow

Trent

Darby

Jack and Maya Gallo were a father and daughter team working at Jack's magazine "Blush" while his daughter tried to prove herself as a journalist. After "Seinfeld" went off the air, "Just Shoot Me" was a contender to replace it, but lost out to "Frasier."

Fox via youtube

This sitcom focused on the family of a Baltimore garbage collector named Charles Emerson. What was it called?

"Top of the Heap"

"Roc"

"Perfect Strangers"

"The Wonder Years"

"Roc" was the nickname of the main character in the show that featured him, his wife, brother and father. The show was notable for the fact it broadcast a number of episodes live, rather than taping and editing them ahead of time.

NBC via youtube

The show "Sisters" focused on the lives of four sisters. What were their names?

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